Off-duty Taunton firefighter flown to hospital after fall from roof

A 43-year-old Taunton man fell off a roof, suffering serious injuries and triggering a call for a medical transport helicopter.

Marc Larocque Enterprise Staff Writer @Enterprise_Marc

A Taunton firefighter fell off the roof of a three-story home on Tuesday morning while doing construction work, suffering serious injuries and triggering a call for a medical transport helicopter.

A MedFlight helicopter took off from the parking lot of the former Shaw’s Supermarket on Winthrop Street around 10:30 a.m., after the off-duty firefighter fell off the roof of a house on nearby Wilmarth Street, according to a Taunton Emergency Management Agency official.

A representative at Rhode Island Hospital confirmed that Taunton firefighter Chad Larivee was taken to the trauma center there. By 5:30 p.m., a spokesman for the hospital said that, “the patient is in recovery.”

Emergency officials said paramedics were concerned that the Larivee may have seriously injured his spine or head.

“The call came in as a person falling off the roof,” said Rick Ferreira, director of TEMA. “I think they also said he might have sustained head and possible spinal injuries. So everybody blocked off Shaw’s plaza and (they) just left for a hospital in Rhode Island.”

Ferreira said that according to the call for emergency services, the injured man is 43 years old.

Taunton Police Lt. Paul Roderick confirmed that it was a Taunton firefighter who fell from the third floor at 9:58 a.m. while doing roofing work at the 4 Wilmarth St. home, which he didn’t live in.

Taunton Fire Chief Timothy Bradshaw, reached in the early afternoon, said he has “no comment” on the incident. Others officials at the fire department provided basic details about the call for a man who was injured, without commenting about him being a firefighter, noting that the firefighter’s family still needed to be alerted about the fall.

Across the street from the 4 Wilmarth St. home, neighbor Jason LaPrade said he was talking in his house when all of a sudden he heard a loud clatter. LaPrade, a former roofer, said the fall was “like a pinball machine,” noting that the building has multiple levels and that the victim hit various features of the building, before dropping to the ground on the left side of the home.

“It was pretty bad,” said LaPrade, looking across the street at the ladders that remained propped against the building. “Falling from that point, that steep, he must have picked up good speed falling down and hit all the parts on the side of the house. It’s scary.”

LaPrade said another member of the construction crew ran over to the victim and looked over a fence, surprised.

LaPrade said he heard from the owner of the home that the staging on top of the roof slipped, causing the man to fall.

“It could be life changing,” LaPrade said. “I hope the guy is alright.”